Dealing with poverty is not new to mankind. Although the economy appears to be expanding, there continue to be a significant number of poor and needy in Ventura County. While there are many dynamics and reasons for the impoverished in our county, the solutions are not always easy or obvious.

The rich frequently condemn the poor for their lack of industry, and the poor, in turn, often covet the comforts enjoyed by the rich.

Many of the religious leaders from the Conejo Valley Interfaith Council recently attended a presentation titled “This is Hunger” by MAZON, a nonprofit Jewish group working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds. Its goal is to help meet the immediate needs of hungry people while developing and advocating for long-term solutions.

An old proverb counsels: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” However, there is an order to this proverb. The man must first be fed, and then taught. If the order is reversed, the man will starve before he learns to fish.

In the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy instructs us that “the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”

While we often see homeless people standing on street corners hoping for a handout, the problem goes much deeper than that.

Hunger can also affect young school children who often rely on their school lunch as their main source of nourishment for the day.

Hunger can affect the elderly and shut-ins who live on a fixed income. Hunger can affect the unemployed and underemployed who can’t afford a balanced meal and are forced to subsist on low-cost grocery items lacking nutrition.

Pride then often masks the situation so that the problems don’t always surface or seem as obvious.

We believe that God does not want to see people condemned to live in poverty. We believe God wants all of his children to enjoy the good things of the earth and that we all have a responsibility to help others.

Since the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taught self-reliance and industry. We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves and take care of our own needs.

Being self-reliant then allows us to bless others.

Harold B Lee, the 11th president of the church, said: “You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on higher ground than he is. You must be sure, if you would rescue the man, that you yourself are setting the example of what you would have him be. You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own soul.”

Marion G. Romney, an apostle of the church, taught: “Without self-reliance, one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse.

“Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.”

If we stop with merely “giving” a man a fish, this problem will not only persist, but may continue to worsen. It is important that we also “teach” a man to fish as part of the solution to lift others out of poverty. As people become self-reliant, they are better prepared to handle other problems that come into their lives, and are in turn better able to care for others who may also be in need.

Ultimately, we are trying to live as the Savior Jesus Christ — to follow his example to love others, to not judge, and to lift the downtrodden.

There are many ways to get involved. There are many local organizations such as Manna Conejo Food Bank, Many Mansions, Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities and others that perform great works of charity daily, but that desperately need help, both financial and physical.

Tom Miller served as a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is a member of the Conejo Valley Interfaith Association, which meets monthly and welcomes clergy and representatives of all religious faiths. He can be reached at wrplanner@aol.com.